<!doctype html public "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/loose.dtd">
<html>
<head>
  <title>BBC NEWS | Asia-Pacific | China delighted with Olympics</title>
  <meta name="keywords" content="BBC, News, BBC News, news online, world, uk, international, foreign, british, online, service">
  <meta name="OriginalPublicationDate" content="2008/08/24 17:45:34">
  <meta name="UKFS_URL" content="/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/7580131.stm">
  <meta name="IFS_URL" content="/2/hi/asia-pacific/7580131.stm">
  <meta name="ROBOTS" content="NOARCHIVE">
  <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html;charset=UTF-8">
  <link type="text/css" rel="stylesheet" href="/shared/css/printthispage.css">
</head>
<body bgcolor="#ffffff" text="#000000" topmargin="0" leftmargin="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0">
<div class="logo">
  <img src="/nol/shared/img/printer_friendly/news_logo.gif" width="163" height="34" alt="BBC NEWS">
</div>
<div class="headline">
  China delighted with Olympics
</div>




  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
    <div class="bo">	
  
  	
    
      <p />
    	  
  	
  
    </div>	
  

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  	
    
      <!--Smvb-->
    	  
  	
    
      <table >
    	  
  	
    
      <tr>
    	  
  	
    
      <td valign="bottom">
    	  
  	
    
      <!--Smvb-->
    	  
  	
    
      
                        By Michael Bristow
                    
    	  
  	
    
      <br />
    	  
  	
    
      
                        BBC News, Beijing
                    
    	  
  	
    
      <!--Emvb-->
    	  
  	
    
      </td>
    	  
  	
    
      </tr>
    	  
  	
    
      </table>
    	  
  	
    
      <br />
    	  
  	
    
      <!--Emvb-->
    	  
  	
  

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
    <div class="bo">	
  
  	
    
      <b>
    	  
  	
    
      The Beijing Olympics have come to a close after 16 days of thrilling competition - with the home nation sat on top of the gold medal table.
    	  
  	
    
      </b>
    	  
  	
    
      <p />
    	  
  	
    
      <p />
    	  
  	
    
      China has spent seven years planning for this event. It must be relieved that these Olympics are being hailed as both a sporting and an operational success.

    	  
  	
    
      <p />
    	  
  	
    
      Worries about air pollution, protesters and media freedom were eventually overshadowed by what went on in the sporting arenas.

    	  
  	
    
      <p />
    	  
  	
    
      At the closing ceremony the International Olympic Committee President, Jacques Rogge, said they had been "truly exceptional games".

    	  
  	
    
      <p />
    	  
  	
    
      <b>
    	  
  	
    
      Best of the best
    	  
  	
    
      </b>
    	  
  	
    
      <p />
    	  
  	
    
      The ceremony to mark the end of the games, held in the Bird's Nest stadium, borrowed some of the grand style of the opening ceremony.

    	  
  	
    
      <p />
    	  
  	
    
      Hundreds of performers were deployed in dazzling sequences that took months of planning to execute to perfection.
	

	
		    
			    
    	  
  	
  
    </div>	
  

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
    
    <div class="ibox">
    
    
  
  	
    
      <table >
    	  
  	
    
      <tr>
    	  
  	
    
      <td width="5">
    	  
  	
    
      </td>
    	  
  	
    
      <td class="fact">
    	  
  	
    
      <!--Smva-->
    	  
  	
    
      <b>
    	  
  	
    
      The world learned more about China, and China learned more about the world
    	  
  	
    
      </b>
    	  
  	
    
      <br />
    	  
  	
    
      <!--Emva-->
    	  
  	
    
      <!--Smva-->
    	  
  	
    
      IOC President, Jacques Rogge
    	  
  	
    
      <!--Emva-->
    	  
  	
    
      </td>
    	  
  	
    
      </tr>
    	  
  	
    
      </table>
    	  
  	
  

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
    </div>
  
  
    <div class="bo">	
  
  	
    
      <p />
    	  
  	
    
      And this being China, there were more fireworks.

    	  
  	
    
      <p />
    	  
  	
    
      The Olympics is being seen as a success from the government all the way down to ordinary people on the streets.

    	  
  	
    
      <p />
    	  
  	
    
      "The best of the best - ever," said one compere, referring to this particular Games a few minutes before the closing ceremony started.

    	  
  	
    
      <p />
    	  
  	
    
      <b>
    	  
  	
    
      Positive legacy
    	  
  	
    
      </b>
    	  
  	
    
      <p />
    	  
  	
    
      There was certainly an attempt at this last event to shape the way the world should think about the controversial decision to award China this year's summer Games.

    	  
  	
    
      <p />
    	  
  	
  
    </div>	
  

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
    <div class="bo">	
  
  	
    
      <p />
    	  
  	
    
      Liu Qi, president of the Beijing organising committee, said the Chinese people had honoured the commitments it made when bidding for the games.

    	  
  	
    
      <p />
    	  
  	
    
      Speaking at the closing ceremony, he said: "The Beijing Olympic Games is a testimony of the fact that the world has rested its trust upon China."

    	  
  	
    
      <p />
    	  
  	
    
      The IOC President, Jacques Rogge, suggested this Olympics would have a positive legacy.

    	  
  	
    
      <p />
    	  
  	
    
      "Through these games, the world learned more about China, and China learned more about the world," he said.

    	  
  	
    
      <p />
    	  
  	
    
      <b>
    	  
  	
    
      All-star cast
    	  
  	
    
      </b>
    	  
  	
    
      <p />
    	  
  	
    
      The closing ceremony is partly about handing over to the next host of the summer Games, which in 2012 will be London.

    	  
  	
    
      <p />
    	  
  	
    
      That gave the British capital the chance to stage its own mini-show within the closing ceremony.

    	  
  	
    
      <p />
    	  
  	
    
      It began when the Olympic flag was handed to recently-elected London Mayor Boris Johnson, who seemed to fumble to unfurl the banner before holding it aloft.

    	  
  	
    
      <p />
    	  
  	
    
      A red London bus than entered the stadium, out of which popped singer Leona Lewis and guitarist Jimmy Page, who together performed the rock classic "Whole Lotta Love".

    	  
  	
    
      <p />
    	  
  	
    
      Britain's most recognisable footballer, David Beckham, then appeared from inside the double-decker - surely no other London bus can have carried such an all-star cast.

    	  
  	
    
      <p />
    	  
  	
    
      To huge cheers, Beckham kicked a football into the crowd of athletes who had also paraded into the stadium.

    	  
  	
    
      <p />
    	  
  	
    
      As the bus left, pretend passengers clung to the sides holding up umbrellas.

    	  
  	
    
      <p />
    	  
  	
    
      It was an attempt to poke fun at Britain's rainy weather and its people's preoccupation with it.

    	  
  	
    
      <p />
    	  
  	
    
      <b>
    	  
  	
    
      Gold medals
    	  
  	
    
      </b>
    	  
  	
    
      <p />
    	  
  	
    
      But the Chinese still stole the show, with some sequences that were vast in scale and ambition.

    	  
  	
    
      <p />
    	  
  	
    
      After the event, one closing ceremony performer, Ying Ying, said her team of cheerleaders had been practising since last autumn.

    	  
  	
    
      <p />
    	  
  	
    
      "I feel very lucky just to be here. I've been moved to see so many athletes - and China has done really well," said the 20-year-old Beijing university student.

    	  
  	
    
      <p />
    	  
  	
    
      A successful Olympics, with 51 gold medals for the home country, is probably exactly what China's leaders had hoped would happen.

    	  
  	
  
    </div>	
  



<div class="footer">
Story from BBC NEWS:<br>
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/asia-pacific/7580131.stm<br>
<br>
Published: 2008/08/24 17:45:34 GMT<br>
<br>
&copy; BBC MMVIII<br>
</div>
</body>
</html>
